Tool for use with electrical connectors

ABSTRACT

A TOOL FOR INSERTION OR WITHDRAWAL OF FRAGILE ELONGATED CONTACT UNITS INTO OR FROM ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS IN WHICH FLEXIBLE RESILIENT MEANS ARE PROVIDED IN A TOOL BIT TO ALLOW ANGULATION OF A HANDLE WHILE ALLOWING PROPER ALIGNMENT OF THE CONTACT UNIT IN A PASSAGE OF A CONNECTOR AND WHILE AVOIDING BENDING OR BREAKING OF THE CONTACT UNIT. IN ONE TYPE OF BIT, ONE END OF A TUBULAR MEMBER FITS OVER A CONTACT UNIT AND THE OPPOSITE END IS FLARED TO ENGAGE A BALL BEARING WHILE BEING SUPPORTED WITHIN A SLEEVE OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL. IN ANOTHER TYPE OF BIT, ONE END OF A MEMBER OF U-SHAPED CROSS-SECTION FORMS A TROUGH RECEIVING A CONTACT UNIT AND THE OPPOSITE END IS FIRMLY CONNECTED TO THE HANDLE, AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION BEING FLEXIBLE AND RESILIENT. MEANS ARE PROVIDED FOR SELECTIVE ATTACHMENT OF EITHER TYPE OF TOOL BIT TO A COMMON HANDLE.

Nov. 23, 1971 R. R. COWMEADOW 3,621,555

TOOL FOR USE WITH ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS Filed Aug. 21, 1969 3| 30* FIG 3 5Z\ FIG 4 56 60 HQ 5 INVENTOR RICHARD R. COWM EADOW United States Patent 3,621 555 TOOL FOR USE WITH ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS Richard R. Cowmeadow, Bramalea, Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to The Bunker-Ramo Corporation, Oak Brook,

Filed Aug. 21, 1969, Ser. No. 851,911 Int. (El. H01r 9/16 U.S. Cl. 29203 H 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tool for insertion or withdrawal of fragile elongated contact units into or from electrical connectors in which flexible resilient means are provided in a tool bit to allow angulation of a handle while allowing proper alignment of the contact unit in a passage of a connector and while avoiding bending or breaking of the contact unit. In one type of bit, one end of a tubular member fits over a contact unit and the opposite end is flared to engage a ball bearing while being supported within a sleeve of elastomeric material. In another type of bit, one end of a member of U-shaped cross-section forms a trough receiving a contact unit and the opposite end is firmly connected to the handle, an intermediate portion being flexible and resilient. Means are provided for selective attachment of either type of tool bit to a common handle.

This invention relates to a tool for use with electrical connectors and more particularly to a tool for insertion or withdrawal of fragile elongated contact units into or from passages in electrical connectors without damage to the contact units. The tool is relatively simple in construction and is rugged and durable while being easy to use.

Tools heretofore used in insertion or withdrawal of contact units into or from passages in electrical connectors have not been easy to use and an additional disadvantage has been that damage to the contact units has been frequent, especially in the case of certain relatively fragile types of contact units.

This invention was evolved with the general object of overcoming the disadvantages of prior art tools and of providing a tool with which contact units can be readily and easily inserted or withdrawn, without damage thereto.

The invention is based in part upon the discovery that with prior types of tools, the difficulties in use and the damage to contact units has arisen because of the rigid support of the contact unit-engaging portion of tool bits from the handle. As a result, exact alignment has been required for insertion or withdrawal of the contact units and with any misalignment, bending or breaking of the contact units has resulted.

In accordance with this invention, flexible resilient means are provided in a tool bit in a manner such as to allow angulation of a handle while still obtaining the required alignment and while avoiding bending of the contact units.

In one type of tool bit constructed in accordance with the invention, flexible resilient means are provided in the form of a member of elastomeric material which supports an end portion of an elongated member opposite to an end portion engaged with a contact unit. Preferably, the member of elastomeric material is disposed within an opening in a support member and in surrounding relation to the elongated member.

According to a specific feature of the invention, a ball bearing is disposed between an internal surface portion of the support member and a terminal end of the elongated member which preferably has an annular outward flare.

According to another feature of the invention, the elongated member is a rigid tubular member and a sleeve of a relatively soft material is atfixed thereon to form a resilient stop.

In another type of tool bit in accordance with the invention, an elongated member has acontact-unit engaging portion at one end, an opposite end portion firmly supported and an intermediate portion which is flexible and resilient. In this type of tool bit, the contact-engaging end portion may preferably have a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration to form a trough for receiving a contact unit.

Further features of the invention relate to means for detachably connecting tool bits to a handle and to allow selective use of different types of tool bits.

This invention contemplates other objects, features and advantages which will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing a tool constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, showing one form of tool bit, its connection to the tool handle and its use in withdrawal of a contact unit of an electrical connector;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partly in cross-section, illustrating a second form of tool bit; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along line VV of FIG. 4.

Reference numeral generally designates a tool constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention. The illustrated tool 10 comprises a handle 11 which includes a hollow body 12 of generally elliptical crosssection, with one end thereof being closed and with a portion 13 of a cap 14 being inserted into the opposite end. The portion 13 may preferably be formed with slots 15 to provide a certain degree of flexibility for frictional interengagement with the inside surface of the wall of the portion 12, while permitting withdrawal and reinsertion. The cap 14 further includes an enlarged central portion 16 and a cylindrical portion 17 which has a central portion to fixedly receive an externally threaded shank 18.

One form of tool bit 20 is shown supported from the shank 18. The tool bit 20 includes a support member 21 which has an enlarged diameter portion 22 held against the end of the shank 18 by means of a nut 23 threaded on the shank 18 and having an inwardly facing shoulder engaging a shoulder defined by the outwardly facing annular surface of the enlarged diameter portion 22.

The tool bit 20 further includes an elongated member 24 of tubular form having an end portion 25 adapted to receive a pin 26 of a contact unit 27 of an electrical connector. The illustrated contact unit 27 is a type of unit referred to as a filter pin and includes ferrule means of a ferrite material together with means defining capacitances, operative to filter out high frequency electrical components. The center of the central portion 28 is engaged by tines 29 of a ground plate 30 which is disposed between a pair of members 31 and 32 forming an insulating body of the electrical connector.

To retain the contact unit 27 in the connector, a retaining sleeve 34 is provided which is slotted to define fingers 35 and 3 6 which resiliently engage a shoulder 37 of the unit 27. A seal member 38 is provided having an opening 39 through which the pin 26 projects.

To remove the contact unit 27, the member 24 is inserted onto the pin 26 and moved to the left as viewed in FIG. 3, the end portion 25 being preferably provided with a beveled terminal end 40 operative to spread the opening in the seal member 38. When the end of the member 26 engages a shoulder 42 of the unit 27, the unit 27 is moved to the left and the shoulder 37 is conically shaped to spread the fingers 35 and 36 by cam action. With further movement to the left, the beveled terminal end 40 operates to further spread the fingers 35 and 36 to allow movement of the contact unit 27 to the left. This operation is continued until a sleeve 44 on the member 24 engages the seal member 38, the member 44 thus forming a stop for limiting the movement of the contact unit. At this point, the unit 27 may be readily withdrawn by pulling it from the opposite side of the connector.

In this operation, it is important that the member 24 be maintained in alignment with the passages through the connector to facilitate removal and, perhaps more important, to avoid damage to the unit 27. The unit 27, particularly one of the filter pin type as illustrated, is fragile and can be readily damaged if subjected to bending, the ferrite and capacitance elements thereof being relatively brittle.

In accordance with this invention, the contact unit-engaging portion 25 is flexibly and resiliently supported from the handle 11. In the case of the tool bit 20, this flexible and resilient support is obtained by means of a member 45 of an elastomeric material such as soft rubber or preferably a synthetic material having elastomeric properties similar to those of soft rubber. The member 45 takes the form of a sleeve and is disposed in surrounding relation to an end portion 46 of the member 214 which is opposite the contact unit-engaging portion 25. Member 45 is disposed within an opening 47 in the support member 21. With the member 45, the member 24 can be readily aligned with the passages through the connector and the possibility of exerting bending forces on the unit 27 is minimized.

Additional flexibility is obtained by means of a ball bearing 48 which is disposed between a terminal end 49 of the end portion 46 and an internal surface 50 of the support member 21. Preferably, the terminal end 49 is of outwardly flared annular form and the surface 50 is of generally conical shape.

Another type of tool bit is shown in FIG. 4 and is designated by reference numeral 52. The tool bit 52 comprises an elongated member 53 having an end portion 54 for engaging a contact unit and having an opposite end portion 55 which is firmly supported within an opening 56 in a support member 57 and includes an enlarged diameter portion 60 similar to the portion 22 of the support member 21.

The contact unit-engaging portion 54 preferably is of generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, and provides a trough for supporting a contact unit for insertion into a passage of an electrical connector, the contact unit being disposed with the center of gravity thereof within the portion 54 to be held by gravity and by frictional engagement therein. To allow annular deflection of the contact unit-engaging portion 54 relative to the handle 11, an intermediate portion 61 of the member 53 is flexible and resilient.

Preferably, the member 53 and also the member 24 may be of stainless steel. The sleeve 58 and also the stop sleeve 44 may be of nylon or a similar material. Support members 21 and 57 may be of steel or other rigid material while the body 12, the cap 14 and the threaded shank 18 may be of a suitable relatively hard plastic.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tool bit 52 may be stored within the hollow body 12 when not in use and similarly the tool bit 20 may 'be stored therewithin when the tool 4 bit 52 is in use. When neither is being used, both may be stored within the hollow body 12.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a tool for insertion or withdrawal of fragile elongated contact units into or from passages in electrical connectors, a handle, and a tool bit including an elongated member having a contact unit-engaging end portion engageable with a contact unit along at least a portion of the length thereof, and flexible resilient means supporting said contact unit-engaging portion from said handle and arranged to allow relative angulation of said handle without bending said contact unit, said flexible resilient means comprising a member of elastomeric material supporting the opposite end portion of said elongated member.

2. In a tool as defined in claim 1, a support member having an opening receiving said opposite end portion of said elongated member, said member of elastomeric material being disposed within said opening and around said opposite end portion of said elongated member.

3. In a tool as defined in claim 2, said support member having an internal surface portion defining an inner end of said opening, and a ball bearing between said internal surface portion and the terminal end of said opposite end portion of said elongated member.

4. In a tool as defined in claim 3, said opposite end portion of said elongated member being tubular and said terminal end thereof having an annular outward flare.

5. In a tool as defined in claim 2, said elongated member being a rigid tubular member.

6. In a tool as defined in claim 2, a sleeve of a relatively soft material afiixed on an intermediate portion of said elongated member toform a resilient stop.

7. In a tool as defined in claim 1, said tool bit including a support member from which said contact unit-engaging end portion is supported through said flexible resilient means, and connecting means for detachably connecting said support member to said handle, said connecting means comprising a hollow sleeve receiving said support member and threaded on said handle.

8. In a tool for insertion or withdrawal of fragile elongated contact units into or from passages in electrical connectors, a handle, and a tool bit including an elongated metal member having a contact unit engaging portion engageable with a contact unit along at least a portion of the length thereof, said elongated metal member having thin and substantially flat central portion of substantial length between said contact unit engaging portion and an opposite end portion thereof, and means firmly supporting said opposite end portion of said elongated member from said handle, said central portion being flexible and resilient to allow angular deflection of said contact unit engaging portion relative to said handle.

9. In a tool as defined in claim 8, said contact unit engaging end portion of said elongated member having a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration to form a trough for receiving a contact unit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,210,832 10/1965 Kalen 29-203 H 3,325,884 6/1967 Blight et a1. 29-203 H 3,380,14l 4/1968 Rofer Q9203 H 3,451,117 6/1969 Cameron 29-203 H GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner 

